From Cyril Mbah, Abuja.
The National Youth Leader of the All Progressives Congress, (APC), Dr. Dayo Israel, has condemned what he described as a deliberate, sustained campaign of targeted hate against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, his family, and every Nigerian who openly stands with him or supports him.
In a statement issued on Saturday, Dr. Israel said what Nigeria has started witnessing is no longer ordinary political disagreement, but persecution, with a section of the opposition, particularly elements within the Obidient movement, making it a full-time occupation to attack, insult, threaten and attempt to silence anyone associated with the President.
He said comedians, entertainers, creative professionals, ordinary supporters and even public officials are routinely marked for destruction the moment they defend the administration or celebrate its achievements.
Dayo added that many in the creative industry have grown afraid to publicly identify with the President, not because they disagree with him, but because they know the personal cost of doing so.
Dr. Israel cited the incident in London on Thursday, November 12, 2026, where after the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC), Professor Joash Amupitan, addressed a Chatham House event on preparations for the 2027 elections, a small group of Nigerian protesters surrounded his vehicle, shouted insults and demanded his resignation.
He said the protesters labelled INEC a “criminal organisation” and accused the chairman of bias, citing issues in the preliminary voters’ register, with some of those involved reportedly wearing Peter Obi branded memorabilia.
The APC Youth Leader said a UK-based Nigerian lawyer who was present described the group as tiny, between ten and fifteen people, and alleged that some were paid to stage the confrontation, while former Senator Shehu Sani rightly condemned the harassment of the electoral umpire as an attack on democratic institutions before any election has even taken place.
He described the London incident not as a spontaneous expression of democratic concern, but as targeted intimidation of an independent institution, dressed up as protest.
Dr. Israel also condemned the incident in Abuja on Friday, November 13, after the President observed Juma’at prayers at the Shehu Shagari Central Mosque in Area 1, Garki, where sponsored thugs and miscreants allegedly attempted to attack security operatives attached to his convoy.
He said videos circulated of youths throwing stones and chanting rejection slogans, noting that the Presidency has correctly identified the actions as the work of opposition elements deploying paid thugs to manufacture a narrative of rejection, and he warned that any further attack on the person or convoy of the President will not be condoned.
The statement also defended the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, saying from her days as First Lady of Lagos State through the New Era Foundation to her current work, she has focused on empowering people and investing in communities, with the Renewed Hope Initiative. She has also been mobilising and deploying over N100 billion in three years to women entrepreneurs, widows of fallen security personnel, schoolgirls, disaster victims and vulnerable families across all 36 states and the FCT.
Dr. Israel described President Tinubu as a reformer and a visionary whose administration has placed Nigeria on a clearer path of economic viability, citing improved foreign exchange liquidity and increased international spending limits on naira cards, with some banks now allowing quarterly limits as high as $40,000, as measurable outcomes of difficult choices made in the national interest.
He concluded by stating that the majority of Nigerians voted for Tinubu in 2023 and retain the right to support him again in 2027, warning that no amount of online terror, physical harassment or manufactured outrage will erase that right, and adding that supporters of the President will not be intimidated.
